WR: October 3 – October 11

Unexpected Opportunities

This week was probably the most intense week thus far, and will probably be one of the most fun times I will ever have in the school year. As the days and weeks crawl on, business symposium gets ever closer and more ISM students get research interviews with professionals in their respective fields. As of the start of this week, I had zero interviews done. This was because my first would be on Thursday, October 6th and my second on Saturday, October 8th. Furthermore, symposium was held on Wednesday, October 5th. With such a lineup, one could easily be fed up of all the consecutive events. However, one should not take these things as hindrances, but rather as fun challenges that should be tackled head on.

Symposium is supposed to be an event where we meet professionals and practice our interviewing skills. However, most students go in thinking that all they want is some professional’s contact. Now don’t get me wrong, while that is important, it’s not nearly as important as improving yourself by gaining advice from those experienced professionals. By looking as professional as one can and by exhibiting the most humble attitude one can muster, only then will professionals open up to one and have a proper conversation. However even then, one will experience nervousness. In order to combat this feeling, I got as nervous as I wanted to the day before, and when I woke up on Wednesday, I threw all of my nervousness away as it didn’t help me at all. By doing this, I was able to meet many professionals who were able to critique me and my way of speaking. I feel like the result I obtained were amazing because while I did do very well, the pieces of advice I did get have helped me improve overall.

As for my first and second research interviews, I was possibly the most nervous I could ever be. For the first, I made a 45-minute drive to Dallas, but what would happen if he immediately hated me? Again, I threw my tension away and walked into his office. At that moment I froze. Not out of nervousness, but rather out of giddiness. I felt like he was a famous actor because I had only seen him on the computer screen. I had only communicated with him across the computer, but now it was time to directly learn about him and his career. As for the 2nd interview, while he did work in Dallas, we both loved near Plano so we met up at a Starbucks. This time, I was prepared for any unexpected meetings and went in as prepared as I could be. The results were that I had gained a great amount of insight toward my field. I regretted nothing during this past week, and would gladly experience it over and over again.

Again, most people don’t take these events in the correct manner. One should always view these types of challenges in a positive light because it greatly improves one’s performance capabilities. Furthermore, having fun is a vital part of following one’s career path. If I didn’t have fun during these trials, there would be no way I would enjoy my field in the future.